Tuesday, April 18, 2006

more on PDA

getting the wrong PDA? the above PDA stand for "Public Display of Affection"
well these days...PDA could be healthy..but sometime...irritate other people in community..till issue like below came out...

Stop spying, urges Ong
LUMUT: Local authorities should stop sending their enforcement officers to spy on courting couples, unless there are excessive indecent acts such as stripping.
Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting said the local authorities also should not have their own interpretations on what constituted indecent acts.
“We don’t want local authorities to have their own interpretations and arrest couples who are seen holding hands or putting hands on each other’s shoulders.
“That is not your priority. If a person is found naked in public areas, then they can do something about it, as such an act is intolerable and seriously immoral,” he said.
Ong was addressing the issue of whether hugging and kissing constituted indecent behaviour at the National Municipal Council Conference held at Swiss-Garden Resort and Spa Damai Laut here yesterday.
He said the matter was of grave concern to the public and the Government.
If local authorities were to interpret the park bylaws differently, it would send the wrong message to the outside world, he said.
“Some may say that they cannot have couples holding hands or husband and wife hugging each other.
“If a council head backs such unpopular acts, then you become controversial,” he added.
The Housing and Local Government Ministry, Ong said, would discuss the definition with other agencies such as the Tourism Ministry and the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry before submitting it to the Cabinet for decision, after which it will further be endorsed by the National Council of Local Governments.
On April 4, the Federal Court ruled that the KL City Hall had the authority to enact bylaws to prosecute people for indecent public behaviour.
The Federal Court made this decision when hearing the appeal by two university students who challenged the power of local authorities to enact such bylaws under the Local Government Act 1976 after they were summoned for allegedly behaving indecently at the KLCC Park in 2003.
However, the court also ruled that it would be up to the magistrate hearing the case to decide if hugging and kissing constituted indecent behaviour.
The case is still pending.
Following the Federal Court ruling, several parties including the Bar Council and the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) wanted the authorities to come up with a clear definition of indecency if there was to be legislation on it.

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